Heartstone – Discover great gay stories.

The years-long friendship between two pre-teen boys is threatened when they strike up romantic relationships with a pair of local girls in this in the affecting and beautifully crafted coming-of-age drama from Icelandic director Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson.

Set in a small village in rural Iceland, Heartstone follows Thor and Christian (Baldur Einarsson and Blaer Hinriksson), best friends whose home lives are unsatisfactory, to say the least.

Thor is ruthlessly mocked by his elder sisters, while his mother can’t be bothered to hide her frustration at having to sacrifice her pleasure for the sake of her children. While Thor suffers from absentee parenting, Christian’s drunken and abusive father is, unfortunately for him, all too present. The events that follow threaten to destroy the longest and most meaningful connection of their young lives.

Evincing a real feeling for how kids relate to one another, Heartstone is a piercingly honest portrait of adolescent sexuality that effortlessly and evocatively portrays small-town life in Iceland.

Watch the trailer for Heartstone below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

In a remote fishing village in Iceland, teenage boys Thor and Christian experience a turbulent summer. As one of them tries to win the heart of a girl, the other discovers that he is harboring romantic feelings toward his best friend.

When summer ends and the harsh nature of Iceland takes back its rights, it’s time to leave the playground and face adulthood for the first time.

An absolutely gorgeous, profoundly emotional coming-of-age film, Heartstone has won the hearts of critics all over the world. The Playlist said it’s “beautifully shot, touchingly performed and delivered with a thrillingly atmospheric sense of place.” And Screen International said it’s “Affecting as well as perceptive in how it intimately depicts the blossoming of youth… just the right amount of confidence, compassion and clear-eyed style.”